Associations of burnout with awakening and diurnal cortisol among police officers

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the associations of burnout with cortisol parameters in 197 police officers from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study (2010–2014). The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey assessed depersonalization, exhaustion, and professional efficacy. Officers provided salivary cortisol samples collected upon awakening, and 15, 30, and 45 ​min thereafter as well as three additional samples at lunchtime, dinnertime, and bedtime. Total area under the curve with respect to increase (AUCW(I) for waking and AUCD(I) for diurnal), total area under the curve with respect to ground (AUCW(G) for waking and AUCD(G) for diurnal), and diurnal slope were determined and used in this study. Unadjusted and adjusted (age, sex, and race/ethnicity) associations were examined using linear regression. The mean age of the officers was 48 years and 72% were males. The depersonalization component of burnout was negatively associated with AUCD(G) (β ​= ​−108.4; p ​= ​0.036). Similarly, as exhaustion increased, AUCW(I) (β ​= ​−9.58, p ​= ​0.038), AUCD(G) (β ​= ​−114.7, p ​= ​0.029) and the diurnal slope (β ​= ​−0.000038; p ​= ​0.017) decreased. The Professional efficacy was not associated with any of the cortisol parameters. These results suggest that certain characteristics of burnout may be associated with diminished cortisol secretion in this group of urban police officers. Our findings add to previous studies examining associations of burnout with the cortisol awakening response. Future longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the temporal relationship between burnout and these cortisol parameters.